Iraq's Rashid: Al-Hol holds +10,000 foreign militants

Shafaq News – New York

Syria’s Al-Hol camp continues to hold more than 10,000 foreign militants, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid revealed Friday during an international conference on the issue at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Rashid noted that 34 countries have repatriated their nationals from the camp, including Iraq, while citizens of six states remain. Iraq, he said, has returned 4,915 families—about 18,880 people—since beginning its repatriation program.

Last week, Iraq’s Ministry of Migration and Displacement confirmed that roughly 18,000 Iraqis had been transferred from Al-Hol, which houses families linked to ISIS in Syria’s Hasakah province, to Al-Jadaa camp in Nineveh.

Since 2021, Baghdad has repatriated more than 15,000 citizens in cooperation with international organizations, with returnees first placed in Al-Jadaa for social and psychological rehabilitation. The program, however, has faced objections from families of ISIS victims in Nineveh, who fear the reintegration of returnees into their communities.

Read more: Security vs. Humanity: Iraq's struggle with ISIS repatriation